Why do most cruise ships avoid the western part of S.A.?

[maril]

Hi

We want to like fly into Lima, doing some ground touring and then take a cruise to the western sides of south america. most ships seem to want to stay on the eastern side to cruise and tour. What gives?

thanks

Maril

[Goldryder]

I am boarding at Valparaiso and sailing round the Horn to Buenos Aires for Christmas on NCL Crown. There are a few ships who do the routes on S. America, but possibly not as many as would be liked, but then it is a fragile environment, so the lines do the best they can. Celebrity and a couple of other lines do the Galapagos Islands too.

[greatam]

The western side of South America, north of Lima, is not especially pretty or interesting. Also, it is somewhat dangerous, especially for Westerners. Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela (not really West coast)-not particularly friendly to Americans. There have been lots of ransom kidnappings and street crime is rampant in some areas. Probably a good decision by most cruise lines.

 

As Goldryder stated, there are LOTS of cruises leaving from Chile, going down the western side and around Cape Horn.

 

Most of the ship repo cruises leave from Valparaiso or Lima (Callao) and head northward along the western coast. Of course, there are all the Galapagos expeditions.

[klouised]

it is somewhat dangerous, especially for Westerners. Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela (not really West coast)-not particularly friendly to Americans.

I'm sorry, but I have to jump in here a bit. How can Venezuela be put in the same catagory as Ecuador and Colombia? I know that there is a lot of talk about Venezuela right now, but there are a lot of misunderstandings going around about that country. The country is not dangerous to Americans. The port in Caracas had problems with tourists going into town and getting robbed. That is common for everybody walking around in Caracas, not just tourists. Just keep your jewelry and money tucked out of site. I'm not going to go into politics, but a lot of news about Venezuela is incorrect. I've lived in Venezuela for 6 years and never heard of an American being kidnapped for ransom or anything else. I'm sorry, but I just felt like that needed to be clarified. The people are so nice and giving that I have a hard time hearing all the bad hype that they have been recieving lately.

[greatam]

As an American that does business in South America and travels there 4 or more times per year, you are somewhat correct, from a western tourist propspective. Venezuela is NOT as dangerous as some other companies in SA. However, the political climate is not friendly to Americans. Political demonstrations are frequent in lots of parts of South America and have been known to turn violent. I certainly would not want to take a chance in Venezuela with the current political climate. When you have the Venezuela President rooting for Al Queda, what more needs to be said.

 

My brother is head enviromental engineer for the #2 mining company in the world. He travels frequently to South America. And has a $10,000,000 kidnap policy provided by his company. In fact, all the mining engineers and most of the American workers are provided kidnap insurance. FARC is still active, as are a couple of other rebel groups in the highlands of Peru and Columbia. The border and mountain areas are VERY dangerous. Most cruise passengers will get no place close to those areas, but the OP seemed more adventurous than the average cruise passenger.

[wheals]

I'm sorry, but I have to jump in here a bit. How can Venezuela be put in the same catagory as Ecuador and Colombia? I know that there is a lot of talk about Venezuela right now, but there are a lot of misunderstandings going around about that country. The country is not dangerous to Americans. The port in Caracas had problems with tourists going into town and getting robbed. That is common for everybody walking around in Caracas, not just tourists. Just keep your jewelry and money tucked out of site. I'm not going to go into politics, but a lot of news about Venezuela is incorrect. I've lived in Venezuela for 6 years and never heard of an American being kidnapped for ransom or anything else. I'm sorry, but I just felt like that needed to be clarified. The people are so nice and giving that I have a hard time hearing all the bad hype that they have been recieving lately.

 

We will be visiting Isla Maragrita in December, 2005 via a cruise. Any recomendations for tours or beaches while there? We only be there for about 8 hours but that does not include tendering back and forth from the ship. What beach would you recommend? Play EL Aqua? Any places for good snorkeling!

[klouised]

We will be visiting Isla Maragrita in December, 2005 via a cruise. Any recomendations for tours or beaches while there? We only be there for about 8 hours but that does not include tendering back and forth from the ship. What beach would you recommend? Play EL Aqua? Any places for good snorkeling!

I'm very familiar with Isla de Margarita and its port. I talk about it a lot in the Caribbean-Other section of this forum. It's hard for me to recommend a beach, because it depends on what YOU like. The choice is between 2 beaches. There are others, but these are the 2 that people pick the most. First, you have to understand that El Guamache Port has a large section of vendors selling handcrafts and items made in Venezuela. They also have 2 bars with LIVE music and a beach. All of this is right there when you get off the ship. Many people prefer to stay there at the port, instead of paying to go somewhere else. The beach is shallow far out, and the water is very calm. There have been complaints that on rare occastions there might be a smell that comes from the salt flats that are behind the beach. That cannot be helped. Now, some people don't like calm, shallow waters, so they prefer to go out to another beach. Most people pick Playa El Agua. It's a beautiful beach with stores all along the road there. The problem is that it takes 45 minutes to get there then another to get back. If you are there for a full day then it's not a problem. Many people are there for only half days, so that doesn't work. I'm not familiar with the scuba diving, even though I know they have tours for that. I looked up some places that I know give tours, so here are some links.

http://www.holidaymargarita.com/margarita/activities.htm

http://www.casatrudel.com/MargaritaIslandActivities.htm

http://www.margaritaonline.com/guia/reporte_eng.php?cat=viajesyturismo/excurciones

I can't personally recommend them, but I have seen them around.

This link is to a popular news site that gives you Venezuela news in English. http://vheadline.com/main.asp It might help you to better understand the political happenings better. I hope it helps, and that you enjoy your time here.

[digby]

Try Oceania Cruise lines. They have cruises on both sides of the continent.